Into the Shadows
by SpaceMonkey0941
Summary: Sequel to fyd818's story Vindicated, which you should all go read right now. In Vindicated, Ronon is accused of murder, then aquitted, after lots of drama of course. Now what trouble is in store for his family? RononTeyla, ShepWeir. Chapter Eleven is up!
1. A Rude Awakening

Disclaimer: I don't own "Stargate: Atlantis." Neither does fyd818, although she does quite an awesome job of writing stories for it. This idea is also, sadly, not entirely mine, it being the sequel to another author's 'fic and all. If you want this to make sense, read "Vindicated" by fyd818 first. If you _don't_ want this to make sense, translate it into . . . I dunno . . . Swedish or something. You figure it out.

Synopsis: AU. Sequel to Vindicated. Ronon, once falsely accused of a murder, is now back home with his wife, Teyla, and their daughter, Allie. Ronon's partner on the police force, John, has married Teyla's best friend, Elizabeth. I don't think you really need character outlines. Just watch the show sometime.

Rating: T

Warnings: Violence, but not in this chapter (although Ronon gets whacked on the head with a pencil).

Pairings: Ronon/Teyla established, John/Elizabeth established.

Spoilers: "Vindicated" and anything from "Stargate: Atlantis" with Ronon in it. So most of seasons two and three.

Title: _Into the Shadows_

Author: SpaceMonkey0941

Part 1/?

**Dedication**: To **fyd818**, the true creator of this AU: THANK YOU SO MUCH for letting me in on it! (I also stole your formatting, just so that people who are already into the series already aren't toooooo confused. Megatacklehugs sweetie!)

**Into the Shadows**

by

_SpaceMonkey0941_

**Chapter 1**

_A Rude Awakening_

--------------------

"Yeeheehee . . . Daddy! Stop tickling me!"

Teyla Dex stood leaning in the doorway of her apartment, smiling tolerantly as she watched her four-year-old daugher Allie attempt to squirm out of the grasp of her father, Ronon Dex. The big, dreadlocked man was smiling as he tickled his daughter's feet, a smile that Teyla had seen more and more often after Ronon had returned two months previously.

She was still watching the horseplay, laughing as Allie picked up two pencils and held them like Bantos rods, scowling "intimidatingly" at her father, when the phone rang. Ronon looked up, but Teyla motioned for him to keep playing. He turned back to his daughter just in time to be whacked soundly on the head for his inattention.

Teyla smiled and shook her head as she picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

_"Mrs. Dex? This is Commander Lorne. May I please speak to your husband?" _came the familiar voice of Ronon's commanding officer at the police force.

"Certainly Commander," Teyla responded, then, placing a hand over the mouthpiece, she called into the living room, "Ronon, Commander Lorne would like to speak with you."

A few seconds later, Ronon appeared in the doorway, rubbing his head ruefully.

"Do not complain," Teyla admonished as she handed him the phone. "It was your idea to start her training so young."

Ronon grunted and turned away from her. Teyla laughed and went back into the living room, where Allie was still stick-fighting an imaginary enemy. Teyla crossed the room to crouch beside her daughter, her hands covering Allies on the sticks and correcting their position slightly.

As she tutured Allie in various fighting stances, Teyla heard Ronon finish talking to his boss, hang up the phone, and come back into the room, but when he didn't say anything, she looked at him, and immediately stood.

Ronon looked more serious than she had seen in months, his eyes dark with emotion. Dreading the answer, Teyla whispered, "What happened?"

It took him a few seconds to respond; he looked like he was fighting an inner battle. When he did say something, it was in a low, hoarse voice that reminded Teyla horribly of the day that they had recieved the information that Ronon was wanted for murder.

She sank into an armchair, her eyes locked with his as he said the three words that would once again throw their lives in turmoil.

"Kell got out."

_To Be Continued. . ._

**A/N: Hey folks! Sorry for the short chapter, but I realized (just now) that I had promised fyd I'd do the sequel three or four weeks ago, and that I hadn't actually written anything yet. So. I'm now off to write chapter two, and possibly chapter three, if Verne (my muse) is feeling inspired.**


	2. Plans Are Made

Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Part 2/?

**Dedication**: Dia.Dahling has also written a sequel to one of fyd818's fics - Go check it out. Now. It's great and she's a good author. What are you waiting for? Go! Read!

**Chapter 2**

_Plans Are Made_

--------------------

"Pack your bags, 'Lizbeth, we've got a bit of a trip ahead of us."

The brunette in question looked up from her typewriter in astonishment, her hand instinctively moving to the pronounced bulge of her expectant stomach.

"What's wrong, John? Who was that on the phone?" she called to her husband, who stuck his head out of the kitchen door to reply.

"Commander Lorne. We need to go on vacation for a while," he said, but she knew by the lack of the ever-present laughter in his eyes and his serious demeanor that something was wrong. Rising slowly to her feet, her hand on the desk to support herself, Elizabeth Sheppard frowned at her husband.

"What's wrong, John?" she repeated, eyes narrowed in suspicion. He sighed and ran a hand through his perpetually messy brown hair.

Noticing her pronounced look of skepticism, he hastened to assure her, "You don't need to worry."

"I only worry when you tell me not to worry about something," she replied wryly. He sighed, a small smile breaking across his boyish features, and crossed the room to kiss her gently, his hand joining hers on her stomach.

"We're gonna have a baby, Elizabeth," John said softly, and she smiled at the look of absolute wonder he always wore when he looked at her – their – baby, safely hidden for the moment, but in five months . . .

"Yes we are, John," she said, then added sternly, "Now stop trying to change the subject and tell me what's wrong."

John sighed, "I know when I'm beat," then guided her gently over to the overstuffed couch in the room and sat her down, never letting go of her hand.

"I really don't want you to worry about this," he repeated, throwing in a puppy-eyed look for good measure, although it seldom worked on her.

"Well I'll start not worrying just as soon as you tell me what's going on!" she said exasperatedly. He laughed, patting her arm.

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you. And trust me – we're going to be okay."

"You fill me with confidence," she quipped, leaning stiffly back onto the couch.

John took a deep breath. "That was Commander Lorne," he started. Elizabeth nodded for him to continue.

"He had some . . . fairly bad news," he said, then stopped as if unsure how to continue.

"Which was?" she prompted.

"Erm . . . Kell broke out of prison a few hours ago."

Elizabeth sat there in shocked silence for a few seconds, then shook her head slightly to clear it and leaned forward attentively.

"How?"

John shook his head. "He didn't tell me yet."

"Do Ronon and Teyla . . .?" she asked, her hand moving to support her forehead as she tried to sort out her thoughts.

"They know. They're going to wait for us at the docking port."

Elizabeth nodded, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath before standing resolutely and walking towards their bedroom to pack. John followed her, his hand comfortingly on her back.

**_Atlantis - _**Atlantis Spaceport

"Ronon! Teyla!" Elizabeth called, waving and smiling at her friends as she joined them at the docking port for the outgoing spaceships.

"John said for us to go on into the ship while he accqaints himself with the controls," she explained as she bent down to give Allie a hug.

"Is John piloting?" Ronon asked in his deep, rumbling voice. Elizabeth nodded.

"This ship is fairly small, so we shouldn't need any crew," she added as they moved up the small rampway into the ship.

"Good Evening, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages," came John's voice over the loudspeaker as they entered the spacecraft. Allie giggled in delight as the announcement continued, "Please remember that this is a strictly private flight - all of you stowaways had best be jumping ship now, cause there's only enough food for the five of us."

"Hello John," Teyla greeted him as the party came onto the bridge. He stood to give her a quick hug and shake Ronon's hand.

"So, folks, where to?" John asked, rubbing his hands together. He appeared excited about the trip, but none of his companions were fooled, knowing that he was as unhappy about going as they were.

"How much life-support and supplies do we have?" Teyla asked.

John shrugged and replied, "Enough for a week or two, but I was sort of hoping we could find somewhere . . . safe before then."

He looked at Elizabeth as he said this, and she rolled her eyes and tapped Teyla on the arm.

"Come on, I don't think I can stand much more of this over-protectiveness," she said, turning away and walking toward the living quarters in the ship. Teyla laughed, beckoned to Allie, and they followed.

Once their wives were out of ear-shot, Ronon turned to John, his comfortable manner changing abruptly to edginess.

"Commander Lorne told you what happened?" he asked tensely.

John nodded, his face as serious as Ronon's. He slid into the pilots seat and began a sequence of pushing buttons and flipping levers, almost unconsciously.

"How'd he get out?" he asked over his shoulder. Ronon snorted.

"One of the guards was an accomplice. Smuggled him in a ball-point pen containing poison instead of ink. He killed his guard and took the uniform, then just walked out," he answered disgustedly. John nodded.

"What are our orders? Lorne just told me to pack and meet you here," he asked, then clicked his comlink on and said, "Everyone please ready yourselves for takeoff."

As John turned the intercom off again, Ronon sighed and ran a hand over his face.

"We're supposed to lie low for a while. He didn't say where, just that it should be preferably out of the way."

John nodded silently and steered the ship out of the spaceport. They flew in silence for a few minutes, Ronon pacing quietly behind John's chair, and John immersed in his own contemplations, when suddenly the ship bucked in shock and the men heard an ominous crunching sound.

"Whoa!" Ronon asked, grabbing John's chair from behind to keep from falling down. "What was that?"

"We seem to have run into an asteroid," John said over his shoulder as his eyes quickly scanned all of the beeping, blinking consoles. Ronon slid into the copilot's seat.

"How?" he asked, checking the stabilizers and anti-gravity generators.

"Dunno, the scanners didn't pick it up until we hit it for some reason. It wasn't big, but we need some repairs, preferably now," John replied tersely. He sighed and angrily grabbed the steering apparatus and snapped on his comlink.

"Hold on to your hats, kids, we're turnin' back around."

"Wait!" Ronon said suddenly. John looked at him in surprise.

"Can the ship be fixed from the inside?" Ronon asked excitedly.

John ran his eyes over the sensor displays again. "Looks like it."

Ronon smiled. "Head for Verona."

John frowned slightly. "Why, you suddenly have some engineering skills I don't know about?"

"Nope." Ronon replied serenely.

"What then, you think _I_ know how to do it?"

"Nope."

"Well who's going to fix the ship then?" John asked in confusion.

Ronon grinned. "I know just the man . . . "

_To Be Continued..._

**A/N: Heehee, I had that line in my head for -ever-, just waiting for an opportunity . . . can anyone guess who the "man" is that Ronon's talking about? **

**A/N2: One thing - in fyd's fics, she responds to the reviewers at the end of each chapter. I'll do that as well, but I will mainly be replying to everyone's reviews, just through the "review reply" feature of So thanks to the three who reviewed chapter one - fyd818 (love ya!), Izzles (glad you like it!), and Hannah 554 (hope you liked chapter two!)**

**Thank you for listening to that public service announcement. Chapter three will be up as soon as chapter five is written. Which should be in . . . eh . . . five minutes? I'm on a roll today!**


	3. A Scientist of Verona

Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Part 3/?

A/N: Verne was feeling gracious. Here's chapter three!

**Chapter 3**

_A Scientist of Verona_

Rodney McKay was humming as he worked busily on the rusty space-drive in front of him. He was in the back room of his shop, _McKay's Mechanics_, with his back to the entrance, so his only indication of a visitor was when the little bell on the door-handle tinkled gently as the door opened.

"Hold on, I'll be right out," he called to the front of the shop, not bothering to turn around. He was about to continue humming, but he heard a footstep behind him. Sighing in annoyance, he turned to his impatient customer, snapping, "I said I'd be right out!"

"I heard you," Ronon answered amusedly, his smile widening into a laugh at the shocked expression on McKay's face. He strode over to the worktable to envelop the stuttering engineer in a bear hug, which was quickly reciprocated as Rodney's brain caught up with the situation.

"Ronon! You . . . you . . . I heard you were cleared?" Rodney managed to say, holding his friend at arm's length and looking at him in wonder.

Ronon laughed again. "Yeah, coupla months ago. Caught the real bad guy and they dropped charges." His face sobered quickly. "That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about."

_Previously, on the spaceship..._

"I know just the man," Ronon grinned at John, who looked at him out of the corner of his eye.

"Okay . . ." John responded, bringing up a hologram of the city of Atlantis. "Verona . . . that's one of the eastern districts?"

"Yeah," Ronon affirmed, pointing to a small section of the city that was highlighted on the hologram. "Friend of mine has a shop there."

John sighed. "Hate to break it to you, buddy, but we don't exactly have the time to stop and get repairs."

"We won't have to," Ronon assured him. "This guy is fine with traveling on the job."

"Okay," John shrugged, expertly steering the craft towards Verona, adding in an undertone, "I hope he's fine with getting shot at too."

Ronon chuckled shortly. "He'll probably be more worried about the reduced rations."

The two men were laughing as they re-approached the planet.

_Back to the Present..._

**_Verona_ -** McKay's Mechanics

Ronon had just finished explaining their predicament to Rodney when his wireless radio beeped at him.

"_Ronon, how're things going in there?_" came the crackly voice of John.

Ronon tapped his earpiece to activate it, then responded, "I just finished telling him what's going on. Haven't actually gotten around to asking him for help yet."

"_Well ask him!_" came the exasperated reply. Ronon grimaced and said, "Okay, Ronon out," before clicking the earpiece again and turning back to Rodney.

"Erm . . . McKay . . . see the thing is, we sort of need to go into hiding for a while. And we ran into an asteroid on the way out of this system, so . . ."

His voice trailed off as he stared hopefully at his friend, who appeared to be deep in thought.

"Will there be food?" Rodney asked pensively.

Ronon hid a smile. "We can stretch what we've got until we get where we're going."

"Which is where, exactly?" Rodney asked.

Ronon shrugged noncommittally in reply. Rodney nodded, then clapped his hands together and smiled, looking apprehensive but excited.

"Anything to get out of this dump, lemme just grab . . . uh," he started, then looked around at his shop and the piles of broken ship parts lying everywhere. ". . . Some clothes," he finished, then raced off into an adjoining room, returning seconds later with a duffel bag.

Ronon smiled again, patted Rodney on the shoulder, and led him back to the ship, parked in a convenient warehouse around the corner. As they entered the building, Ronon tapped his earpiece again.

"I've got him, you ready to go?" he asked as he gestured Rodney up the ramp leading into the ship.

"Yep." John replied, flicking switches and closing the hatch. The ship took off, only slightly less gracefully than it had before, and exited the warehouse, just as a man stepped out of the shadows and spoke into a radio.

"I've placed the tracking device on the ship. They won't get far."

_To Be Continued..._

**A/N: Heehee, evil cliffies are fun... -ducks from assault of rotten vegetables- No, it's okay, I'll update soon! Really! Uhm...how's next month? -ducks again to escape being hit by gigantic watermelon- Okay, tomorrow then. **

**fyd818: ** Haha, yes they are! Not for a while, though, but eventually! Heehee. Mini!Sheppards. Everybody run for cover... glad you liked it! -hugs- Next one'll be up soon.

**Izzles:** Yay you guessed it! I love Rodney, he's so much fun to write for! -hugs David Hewlett- Thanks for reviewing!

**belanna30: **I'll -definitely- put in some Sparky for you, but it might not be for a chapter or two (or three or four...) but I promise that eventually there will be a very long chapter of just Sparky fluff, just for you. :) I'm glad you liked it!


	4. A Fool's Paradise

Please see first chapter for disclaimers, ratings, warnings, pairings, etc.

Part 4/?

**Chapter 4**

_A Fool's Paradise_

"Fixed it!" Rodney yelled triumphantly from the bowels of the ship. John smiled in amazement as the controls, which had been flickering warningly for the past few hours, stabilized and brightened, showing him that the damage had indeed been repaired.

"Nice!" he exclaimed as he reviewed the ship's systems. He turned to his co-pilot. "You sure can pick 'em, Ronon."

The big man smiled. "Yeah, he's good, but I should warn you - don't tell him that he's good. He has an ego twice the size of Atlantis and talks about himself for _hours_."

John raised his eyebrows. "I find that a little hard to believe," he started, when a grease-covered Rodney McKay appeared in the bridge, rubbing his hands in satisfaction.

"Well, that's the hyperdrive upgraded, the life support extended, the auxiliary power doubled, and oh I fixed that little dent in the hull too," he said smugly, wiping his hands on a rag. The two men stared at him.

"What?" he asked. "It's all in a days work for a genius like myself. Now," he added, becoming slightly more businesslike. "I understand there's food somewhere on this ship?"

**_Sverige System _- **Unidentified Planet

The ship glided gently down to the field, hovering a few feet from the ground as the landing gear descended. A minute or two after the ship had come to a full and complete halt, its occupants opened the hatch and stepped onto the planet's surface. The ship's outline blurred for a second, then its image disappeared as it cloaked.

"There's a town of some sort over there," Rodney said, his eyes fixed on the hand-held scanner he had found on the ship. "They probably have lunch of some sort . . . erm, shall we?"

The six of them entered the town, drawing no untoward attention from the natives.

"They are a trading people," Teyla observed, watching men and women busily loading produce onto carts and shopkeepers haggling over prices. Elizabeth nodded, then pointed up the street, where a wooden sign hung over the passers-by.

"Look, _Die Ombre Schatten_, it looks like an inn of some sort," she said to her companions. John nodded.

"Let's check it out," he said, and the six travellers bent their steps towards the inn.

**_Planet_ - **Die Ombre Schatten Inn

Teyla walked into the inn first, holding the door open for her friends. It was a busy place, with people sitting at tables eating and chatting with each other. Teyla noticed a man behind the bar, wiping the surface clean with a rag. He appeared to be in charge, so she walked towards him, followed quickly by Allie, who jumped up to sit on one of the stools and promptly began spinning around.

Teyla stuck out a hand to stop her daughter, raising her eyebrows in gentle admonishment, before looking up to meet the gaze of the barkeep, a young, blonde man with piercing gray eyes. He stared at Teyla for a second, then smiled at her.

"Well, what brings a beautiful woman like you to our fair planet Allura, miss?" he asked. Teyla smiled back.

"I was wondering if you had any rooms available, my friends and I are traveling and need a place to stay," she asked politely, perching on the stool next to Allie's. The man's smile widened.

"For you, we definitely have rooms," he said, looking. Teyla raised an eyebrow at him and he blushed a little, his manner turning slightly more formal.

"How many people?" he asked.

"My daughter, my husband, and I need a room" she said, emphasizing "husband" before continuing, "My name is Kyana, my daughter is Allie, and my husband is Jadin. My friends, Torri and Jake, need a room, as does our companion Sam. Is that agreeable?"

The barkeep nodded, wiping his hand off on the rag before extending it to Teyla.

"My name's Michael. Sure, we've got room, let me just go get the registry," he beamed as she shook his hand.

He walked away, and Teyla followed his progress her eyes. Ronon came up to her, sitting down and murmuring, "I don't trust him, he's too . . . friendly," before picking up Allie and tickling her gently, making her squeal with delight. Teyla shook her head, rolling her eyes, before standing to go talk to Elizabeth.

"Well?" the brunette asked as Teyla reached her. John steered his wife to a chair, earning himself a glare, but Elizabeth sat before turning back to Teyla expectantly.

"His name is Michael. He says that there are rooms for us," Teyla answered, then lowered her voice. "I gave him the names we agreed on earlier, except for Allie - I didn't change her name, because I don't think she would understand why we kept calling her Ellia."

Elizabeth and John nodded in agreement. "Sounds good," John said, looking around distractedly. "Where's Rodney?"

Elizabeth chuckled. "He's over by the bar, trying to figure out which foods don't have any lemons in them. Apparently he's quite allergic."

The three friends laughed, then Elizabeth stood so they could walk over to join Ronon, Allie, and Rodney at the bar. Michael soon returned with a list, which he handed to Teyla. She nodded her thanks, signing "Kyana Emmagan" on the registry, then handing it back to Michael, who smiled at her again.

Ronon glared at the barkeep, who shrank back a bit, then excused himself and rushed off.

"I don't like him," Ronon grumbled as the party started back to the ship to get their things. Teyla and Elizabeth shared a knowing glance, then dropped back from the men to gossip about overprotective husbands. Rodney just shook his head and returned to the solitaire game he was playing on his handheld computer.

John patted Ronon on the shoulder comfortingly, then said, "Ah, it's okay Ronon, these people seem harmless enough. What could go wrong?"

_To Be Continued..._

**A/N: Yeah, I know, John _really_ should know not to say that by now, but . . . anyway. And I also know that I'm officially the most un-original writer on the planet, but yes, Kyana, Jadin, and Jake are all names from fyd818's other 'fics. What can I say, she inspired me! **

**Izzles:** Oh good, thanks! And I agree, sometimes I wish these guys would just get a day off once in a while. But then what would we write about? Heehee. Thanks for reviewing!

**fyd818:** I agree, Rodney's so fun! hugs David Hewlett I'm glad you liked the last line, hope this chapter made up for the cliffie! tacklehugs and thanks for letting me use the other names, too! Next chapter'll be up soonish.


	5. Is a Wise Man's Hell

Please see first chapter for disclaimers, warnings, ratings, pairings, etc.

Part 5/?

**Chapter 5**

_Is A Wise Man's Hell_

The door to Teyla and Ronon's room opened slowly. It did not creak, having been specially oiled earlier that day, but the man opening it was careful just the same. He looked into the room, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness, and saw Teyla lying on her bed, a shaft of moonlight from the window highlighting her features as she slept.

Michael sighed quietly in regret, then quietly closed the door on the beautiful picture and turned back to the hall, but stopped in surprise as he ran into a very solid object. Looking slowly upwards, Michael gulped. Scowling murderously, Ronon grabbed the front of Michael's shirt and dragged him off down the corridor, then slammed him up against a wall.

"See something you like, _barkeep_?" Ronon bit out the question, then, without waiting for an answer, punched the man hard in the face. Michael gasped and slid down to the floor saying, "Ow, I'm sorry, he told me to, I'm sorry . . ." before Ronon punched him again.

"Shut up," Ronon said venemously. "I don't care how sorry you are, because believe me, when I'm through, you'll be even sorrier."

Michael gulped and fell silent, looking fearfully at the bear of a man standing over him. Ronon looked down at him in disgust, then sighed and ran a hand over his face before squatting to look Michael in the eyes.

"Who told you to spy on my family?" Ronon asked quietly. Michael touched his face gingerly, then answered, "I don't know his name, never seen him before, but he had lots of money."

"What did he look like, what did he say?" Ronon asked, a hint of urgency leaking into his voice. If someone had paid Michael to spy on Teyla, odds were that the "someone" was Kell. And if Kell knew where they were . . .

Michael described the man who had come into the bar. "He wore a cloak, but he wasn't that old - maybe late twenties? Low voice, dark hair, what I could see anyway. He came in a couple of hours before you did."

Ronon nodded. "What did he say?" he repeated. Michael frowned, as if trying to remember.

"He said . . . he said that some people would be coming in to town soon, uh, three men, two women, and a little girl. He gave me the money and said he'd appreciate it if I could find out as much about you as I could. I was about to ask him why he wanted to know about you, but he pulled out a radio and started talking into it."

Ronon's sense of urgency spiked. "A radio? What did he say into the radio?"

When Michael didn't respond, Ronon grabbed the front of his shirt again and shook him.

"What did he say?" Ronon yelled.

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you, but you won't like it," Michael said. "He said, 'Yes, sir?' and then the person he was talking to said something, and then he said 'Yes, sir, the device tracked them here. I was just arranging surveillance', and then he nodded and said, 'Yes sir' again, and, and then he turned the radio off. The he told me that he wanted to know everything you did, that he'd come back tomorrow for a report and if I didn't want to tell him he'd . . . he'd find a way of making me talk."

Ronon laughed derisively. "Which isn't too hard, apparently. Well."

He sighed, then stood. Michael scrambled up as well.

"Well?" he prompted, looking hopeful. "You aren't gonna hurt me?"

Ronon grinned humorlessly. "Not much," he said, then his fist swung into Michael's jaw and the sometime-informant slumped senselessly to the floor. Ronon looked at the man for a minute, shaking his head, then he ran back to his room to tell Teyla.

**_Die Ombre Schatten -_** John and Elizabeth's room

"John? John, wake up," Elizabeth said, gently shaking her husband's shoulder. He grumbled, then sat up in alarm.

"Are you okay?" he asked, reaching out to touch her face. She didn't answer, but he sensed the anxiety in her manner and sighed.

"I'll pack," he said, groaning as he got up from the bed.

Rodney's Room

"McKay," Ronon called, knocking on the engineer's door. He heard movement inside the room and stepped back as the door opened, revealing a very touseled Rodney.

"Come on, we gotta leave," Ronon said, turning away to go back to his room.

"What!" Rodney burst out. "It's three in the morning!"

"Exactly. We need to get off this planet before it's light and we're noticed," Ronon snapped, his patience at its end. Luckily, Rodney sensed this, and shut the door with no further comment.

**_Allura - _**Spaceship

"All right, folks, take two," John said into his intercom, sighing as he initiated the launch sequence. The ship took off and exited the atmosphere.

"Where to?" he asked Ronon, who had looked like a storm about to break since he had told Elizabeth that they had to leave.

"Nowhere," Ronon said, getting up from the copilot's chair and walking off of the bridge.

"Hunh?" John said, then his eyes widened in recognition. "Oh!"

He hurriedly punched a few buttons and the newly upgraded hyperdrive kicked in, leaving an empty patch of space where the ship had been moments before.

_To Be Continued..._

**A/N: -sighs- Connor Trineer . . . also known as "Michael" on Stargate: Atlantis . . . also known as "Trip" on Star Trek: Enterprise . . . I still laugh my head off whenever I see him as a Wraith. I'm all "Oh come on, it's just Trip, he couldn't hurt a fly!" but then he goes and does the whole "taking-over-Teyla's-mind" thing and I get horribly disillusioned. Sigh.**

**belanna30:** Hey again, sorry that there wasn't any Sparky in this chapter but if you wouldn't mind waiting a bit, chapter eight is complete and total Sparky fluff, just for you! I know it's later than I said, but the plot bunnies swept me away and made me write some more of the story first. But it's written!

**fyd818:** Heehee. Rodney is a God to me. And the Ellia thing was seriously just a random "oh wow I need a name for Allie too . . . Allie . . . Ellie . . . Allia . . . Ellia . . . woah! Ellia! Like the wraith kid! Yikes! Must use!" Glad you liked it! -hugs- next chapter'll be up as soon as the documents manager lets me upload it :)

**Hannah 554:** Haha, yeah I think the site is having some issues - sorry for taking so long to update, the document server was being silly. I'm really glad you liked it! Thanks for reviewing, hope you liked this chapter too!

**izzles:** Good gracious yes, John you should really know better by now! Gaah! Heehee. Thanks, glad you liked it!


	6. Nowhere Man

Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Part 6/?

**Chapter 6**

_Nowhere Man_

"We're going _where?_" Elizabeth asked incredulously.

"Nowhere," John replied, grinning devilishly as she opened and closed her mouth in confusion. She quickly got a hold of herself, however, and glared at him through narrowed eyes.

"John Sheppard, if you don't explain what's going on _right now_, I swear," she threatened, shaking her finger warningly at him. He laughed, then grabbed her hand and kissed it. She pursed her lips, yanked her hand back, and crossed her arms. He sighed.

"I told you, we're going to Nowhere. It's a smuggler's planet, has a shield over the entire surface that blocks all signals to and from it. You can't even scan it, and it's not on any star map in the galaxy, but once you've been there, you can get there again."

"And you've been there?" she asked, an eyebrow quirked.

"Coupla years ago, yeah. I was tracking a thief and had to ask around a bit. It's a nice planet, really, I mean apart from all the criminals who hide there . . ."

He trailed off, seeing that she was unconvinced.

"No, really, Elizabeth, they do respect the law there, they just don't actively do anything about it. Anybody can hide there, but they won't stop you from arresting anyone. It's mostly just a place people can hide."

"So that's where we're going to spend the next few weeks?" she asked in disbelief.

"Nope," came Ronon's voice over the radio, where he, Teyla, and Rodney had been listening to the conversation.

"What, then?" Elizabeth asked in exasperation, throwing her hands in the air.

"We're just going there for as long as it takes McKay to find and disable the tracking device that whoever it was put on my ship," John answered placatingly.

"Which, may I add," the engineer himself cut in, "might be longer than you want. Although you all think I'm a genius, it'll still take a while to find the transmitter. After that, piece of cake."

John and Elizabeth exchanged a tolerant glance.

"Okay, Rodney," John said loudly, then turned to his wife and asked, "I never thought he was a genius, did you think he was a genius?" before getting up and returning to the bridge.

_**Nowhere**_ - Orbit around the planet

"So, basically what happens is we shut down all systems until we pass the shield, then bring 'em back online in time to land," John explained to Ronon as they approached the planet.

"What happens if we _don't_ get them back online?" Ronon asked.

John shrugged. "We careen out of control into the planet's surface at a speed of several thousand miles per hour, at which point the ship explodes and we all die."

When no response to that came from his partner, John turned to look at him. Ronon seemed a shade paler than normal, although his expression hadn't changed a bit.

"S'okay, buddy, it usually works. Plus, with Rodney's modifications, we've got a much better chance of having everything work smoothly," John reassured his companion, then looked around quickly. "Don't tell him I said that."

The ship made it through the shield safely, and John's predictions came true as they landed on the surface without a mishap. As soon as they were down, John muttered something to Ronon and left the ship. Rodney had barely begun his search for the tracking device when John returned, carrying a small metal box.

"What's that, John?" Elizabeth asked him. "And why didn't you tell me you were planning to leave?"

"Oh, just a scanner for tracking transmitters," John replied airily, ignoring the second question. Rodney immediately snatched it from his hands, nearly dropping it on his foot in the process.

"Great Scott, this is heavy!" he exclaimed, then, ignoring the looks passing between his friends, immediately plugged his handheld computer into the box. A blue hologram appeared of the ship, and a second later, a small red dot began to pulse on a section of hull near the hatch.

"Bingo!" Rodney exclaimed, then rushed off to disable the device.

"How'd you get that?" Ronon asked John in wonder, looking at the small box, which was still projecting the ship.

"I just looked around until I recognized someone from a wanted poster," John said. "Told the guy I wouldn't arrest him if he could tell me where I could get one of these babies."

He patted the box, which whirred appreciatively, then he continued his tale. "Lucky for me, he had one himself, which he was willing to part with as long as I forgot about seeing him."

"Which you did?" Elizabeth prompted wryly.

John nodded and smiled. "Yep. 'Course, as soon as this whole thing is over, I've got a feeling that my memory might suddenly return, so we may hafta come back here at some point."

Everyone laughed as Rodney came back into the ship, red-faced and holding a small, circular device.

"Got it," he exclaimed proudly. John and Teyla stood.

"Is it off?" Teyla asked cautiously. Rodney shrugged, placed the device on the floor, and crushed it under the heel of his boot.

"It is now," he smiled.

_**Nowhere­ - **_Exiting Orbit

"Well that was a nice, short trip," John said happily as he steered the ship away from the shielded planet.

"Couldn't agree more," Rodney sighed behind him, then turned his attention to the turkey sandwich he had fixed himself from their stores.

The six travelers chatted happily, their good mood restored by the destroying of the tracking mechanism, which they had left on the planet Nowhere, just to be on the safe side. This contented atmosphere was broken, however, when John, in the middle of telling a joke about a nun, a penguin, and an orchestra conductor who met in a bar, fell silent and stared at the controls in disbelief.

"What is it, John?" Teyla asked in concern.

"Everyone back to your quarters," he responded, quietly but with a definite note of urgency in his voice. "Rodney, you stay here, I may need your help."

Teyla and Elizabeth looked at each other in alarm, then Teyla picked up Allie and the three of them left the bridge. Ronon looked after them, then at John, trying to decide where to go. John waved him off.

"Go, keep them calm," he said, and Ronon complied. Hesitatingly, Rodney slid into the copilot's seat.

"Erm . . . what's going on?" he asked timidly.

John glanced seriously at him, then replied, "We're being followed."

_To Be Continued_...

**A/N: Yeeheehee, another cliffie :) Don't hurt me, I'll post the next one soon, I promise. And major, **_**major**_** kudos to whoever can spot the Christopher Lloyd/Michael J. Fox reference. Seriously. I'll bake you cookies. Chocolate Virtual Chip or Peanut Butter Bytes. You pick.**

**Hannah554:** Heehee, thanks, yeah this is one of those times where I wish they'd just hire us fanfic writers for the show and be done with it, then we could actually have them act out our stories! Yay! Glad you liked it, here's the next installment!

**fyd818:** Haha, yeah I had a little -too- much fun writing Michael's surprise, methinks. And yes, the documents manager is officially fallible (thank TPTB), so I'll definitely be able to update slightly more often. Thanks so much, I'm really glad you enjoyed it!


	7. Close Encounters of the Scary Kind

Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Part 7/12

**Chapter 7**

_Close Encounters _

Previously:

_John glanced seriously at him, then replied, "We're being followed."_

"I can't shake 'em!" John yelled as he swung their ship into near collision with an asteroid to avoid the large ship that was following them.

"Try evasive maneuvers!" Rodney yelped, holding onto his chair for dear life.

"What do you think I'm doing, Rodney!" John snapped at the engineer, then sent his craft into a barrel roll and shot backwards over the pursuing vessel. This earned him a few seconds, but the respite didn't last, and the unidentified spaceship turned to follow, this time accompanying its chase with an energy blast, launched at its prey but intended to miss.

As the missile hit an asteroid only a few yards to the right of them, Rodney gulped and said, "They're shooting at us!" before diving under his chair and closing his eyes.

"No, _really_?" John muttered under his breath, then he called into his intercom, "Ronon, buddy, I need a gunner up here," and concentrated on flying as erratically as possible to avoid being locked on to.

It didn't work, as, just as Ronon raced into the bridge, a shock hit the ship, sending him flying into the back of the copilot's chair. The breath whooshed out of his chest, and he staggered, but he regained his balance quickly and moved to the gunner's seat.

"Fire at will," John ordered him. Ronon nodded and did so.

"Rodney, how much damage-" John started, then noticed that Rodney was still hiding under his seat.

"McKay!" Ronon yelled.

"Yes?" Rodney said, popping his head out from under the chair.

"Get your worthless butt into that chair before I pound it into a pulp," Ronon threatened, never taking his eyes off of the enemy ship. Rodney gulped and did as he was told.

"How much damage did we sustain?" John asked him.

"Erm . . . not much . . . just two hits . . . but oh no," Rodney replied, scanning the ship's status bars.

"Oh no?" John repeated incredulously, swerving to avoid a large asteroid. "I do _not_ like to hear 'oh no', McKay!"

"Well I don't like to say it!" Rodney snapped back. "But we've got a busted hyperdrive and some crazy pilot who wants us dead, so pardon me if I end up saying 'oh no' every five seconds!" His fingers flew over the data pad as he confirmed his findings.

"Oh no, oh no, this is _so_ not good," he muttered, then sprang from his chair and rushed off of the bridge.

"McKay!" John yelled desperately after him. Rodney stuck his head back into the room.

"If I'm not back in five minutes, we're all gonna die," he said, then disappeared again.

_Five minutes later..._

"Okay, we're good to go!" Rodney yelled as he came careening back into the bridge.

"What took you so long!" John yelled at him, having spent the last five minutes pulling on every bit of his piloting experience to avoid being hit.

"Oh, sorry, I had to pee," Rodney said as he slid into the copilot's seat again. Ronon turned away from his weapons console to stare disbelievingly at the engineer.

"Well?" Rodney asked. "What are you waiting for? Engage the hyperdrive!"

John frowned in concentration, executing another barrel roll, before asking, "I thought that was busted?"

"Yeah, still is, but the extra one isn't," Rodney answered, buckling himself into the seat.

"There's an extra hyperdrive!" John yelped.

"Of course, didn't I tell you that I found one down there?" Rodney asked.

"NO!" John and Ronon yelled simultaneously.

Rodney shrugged. "Oh. Must've slipped my mind. Anyway, there is one, so will you please _engage it_ or we're all dead!"

"Yessir," John grumbled, and the ship blinked out of existence.

_**Enemy Ship - **_Bridge

"Where did they go!" yelled ex-Commander Kell, who had been quite enjoying watching his prey attempt to evade him until the ship had entered hyperspace.

He whirled furiously on his crew, eyes flashing, as he spat, "I thought you said their hyperdrive was _disabled?_"

"It was!" cried a cowering engineer. "They . . . they must have had a backup."

"Oh, brilliant!" Kell yelled, then spun murderously back to the viewscreen and the innocently blinking stars it showed.

"I will find you, Ronon Dex," he breathed, his eyes showing the absolute hatred he held for the Satedan specialist. "I will find you, and when I do, you will watch your friends and family suffer and die before I kill you myself."

_To Be Continued..._

**A/N: Holy Swiss cheese, Batman! I just wrote four chapters in a **_**day!**_** I didn't know that was possible. But I can't post 'em all at once, that doesn't give you nice folks out there enough time to **_**review**_** (hint, hint). Chapter eight will be up sometime next week. Possibly sooner if I get all of my homework done.**

**A/N2: And it hadn't clicked in my brain until now, but did everyone see the first episode of this half of Season Three? Sheesh. Rodney basically just stole lines from my 'fic (I had this written two weeks before the episode aired) when he kept going "oh no, oh dear, oh this is bad, oh no" and so on. Hah. I win. **

**Hannah 554:** Heehee. Just wait, I'll explain :) eventually . . .

**Suzotchka1:** I'm glad you are, hope you liked this chapter too!

**fyd818:** AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH I HATE fanfic dot net!!! But now I'm happy, cause you reviewed!!! yay!!! Okay, here's chapter seven, sorry it took so long!


	8. Sense of Security

Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

**A/N:** OH! MY! GOD! I am sooooo sorry it took so long for me to update! My laptop conveniently decided to break (again) so it went to the Apple store for a week, then when I got it back it decided to break (AGAIN) so it went away AGAIN for a week! Plus finals. But that's a lame excuse for me since this chapter was written for ages. So I'm sorry! I will update oh so much faster next time, I promise! Please keep reading! It's still being worked on!

Part 8/12

**Dedication:** To belanna30, who reviewed all those long chapters ago and asked for some John/Elizabeth happiness. I'm sorry it took me so long, hon, but I made it extra fluffy to make up for it! Hope you like!

**Chapter 8**

_A Sense of Security_

Elizabeth lay awake, watching her husband sleep peacefully. She smiled, a hand moving to her stomach, caressing it and feeling an answering kick from the baby inside.

"Soon, little one," she whispered, half to herself and half to the child inside her. "Very soon."

"If you call three and a half months soon," yawned John as he rolled over on the bed to face her.

She smiled. "Sorry, John, did I wake you?" she asked. He shook his head.

"Naw, I was just nappin'. How are you feeling?" he asked, propping himself up on an elbow.

"Fine," she assured him, but he saw the wistful look in her eyes and sighed.

"Homesick?" he asked.

She nodded glumly. "A little."

He reached over and kissed her softly.

"Me too," he said, stroking her dark hair. "It won't be long now."

"How do you know?" she asked, a hint of anger leaking into her voice. "It's been a month and a half since we saw that ship, we've been jumping from planet to planet, only staying long enough to get supplies, then off we go again! Do you even know where we are?"

He waited for her to settle down a little, still calmly stroking her hair, then he whispered, "C'mere," and pulled her into an embrace. She sighed and relaxed against him.

"I'm sorry, John," she said, closing her eyes. "I'm just . . ."

"Going a little stir-crazy, I know," he finished for her, causing her to laugh a little.

"I think everyone is," she continued softly after they had both been silent for a minute. "I know Allie misses all of her toys that we had to leave behind. And poor Rodney, well . . ." she finished with a humorless laugh.

John smirked. "Don't worry, at that last planet I picked up some junk for him to tinker with. It's dangerous for him to get bored. Can you believe that Ronon caught him about to break the hyperdrive generator, just so he could fix it again?"

They both chuckled at that, then fell into contemplative silence again.

John thought Elizabeth had fallen asleep when she asked, "How is Commander Lorne going to contact us? It's been so long since we've seen any sign of Kell, maybe they caught him again?"

John sat up, moving Elizabeth slightly so she rested on the pillow, looking up at him. He reached into the neck of his shirt, withdrawing his dog tags. Elizabeth sat up, touching the warm metal, then looked at John with her unspoken question. John grinned, then turned the tags over so that Elizabeth could see the small circle of red lights in the center of each, so small and faint that she would not have noticed them in daylight.

"Wow," she breathed. "I didn't know they did that."

"They don't," John said, tucking the tags back into his shirt and lying down on his side. "These aren't mine, they're copies that Lorne gave me. Ronon has 'em, too. When it's safe to come back, the lights turn blue - it's a subspace communicator thing that bounces off of every satellite in five galaxies, so you can't trace where it's from, you can't find where it's going to, you can't block it, and it'll reach us wherever we go."

Elizabeth smiled. "What won't they think of next?" she asked impishly, then she scooted over to kiss him again. He gladly reciprocated, his arms wrapping comfortingly around her to caress her back.

When they finally came up for air, Elizabeth moved around so that she was comfortable, still wrapped in John's embrace.

"I love you," she whispered to him, closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.

"I love you too," he whispered back, taking care not to let the worry he felt slip into his voice. Once he was sure she was asleep, however, he allowed himself to tighten his hug protectively.

"Only three and a half months," he murmured quietly to himself, then shook his head in disbelief. His hand moved to Elizabeth's stomach, and in her sleep, her hand shifted to hold his.

He smiled, bent to gently kiss her cheek, and then closed his own eyes, hoping that they would be three and a half very uneventful months.

_To Be Continued..._

**A/N: Well there's your dose of Sparky for this week - thanks again to belanna30 for reminding me that my story is both Ronon/Teyla **_**and**_** John/Elizabeth. Hope you liked it, next chapter will be back to the plot!**

**Hannah 554:** Thanks, I really do enjoy writing for Rodney, he's just so . . . Rodney! I'm glad you liked it, hope you liked this (shippier) chapter as well! Sorry it took so long, next one shall be up quite a bit sooner!

**Izzles:** No worries, the server has apparently had as many technical problems as I have Sorry this took so long! Next one'll be up really really soon.

**fyd818:** YES I DID SEE ECHOES AND OMG SQUEEEEEEEEEE!!! -calms down slightly- Wow. That was an incredible episode. HAH! I told you they'd have to listen to us eventually! ;D This chapter was pretty much plotless, but I hope you like it anyway! -mwah- thanks for reviewing sweetie!


	9. Pawn

Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Part 9/12

**Chapter 9**

_Pawn_

Ronon dumped the last bag of supplies on the floor of the ship, grunting, "That's the last one."

"Great!" John said, clapping his hands together. "Let's go then."

"Uh, we should wait for Rodney, John," Elizabeth called from her room, where she, Allie, and Teyla were folding laundry.

"He's not back yet?" John asked in annoyance. "I thought he just wanted to see what technology these people had."

"Which was none," Ronon quipped, surveying the scruffy pile of food they had bartered for.

"Yeah," John agreed. "So where'd he go?"

"I saw him heading off to the edge of town," Teyla said as she entered the bridge. "He said something about a strange energy reading."

John sighed. "You did tell him when we were leaving, right?" he asked Teyla. She nodded.

"Of course. He said that he would be back by then," she answered, then frowned.

Ronon anticipated her next comment. "He might've got a little too . . . interested in whatever he was looking for. You know how McKay is with technology."

Everyone else rolled their eyes. Rodney's penchant for things to tinker with was legendary.

"Well we'll just hafta call him away from his fun," John sighed. He tapped his earpiece.

"Rodney, come in."

When no response was forthcoming, John frowned and tried again.

"McKay, do you read?"

"Perhaps he is out of range?" Teyla suggested, an eyebrow quirked in interest.

"Like hell he is," John muttered angrily. "He just upgraded these headsets so that their range is over one thousand miles!"

He punched a code into the ship's computer, then asked Teyla, "He had his scanner with him, right?"

She thought for a moment, then nodded, "Yes, he had it. He was looking at it when I saw him."

John smiled. "Great. First good thing that's happened all day."

"What's a good thing?" Elizabeth asked, returning from her room with Allie perched on her hip.

"Rodney's got his scanner, which came with this ship, which means we can track the scanner _from_ the ship," John said, scanning the readings the ship was giving him.

When no one replied, he added, "It's a rental. They didn't want us to lose their toys."

_**Secret Underground Bunker - **_Interrogation Room

Rodney woke up slowly, blinking repeatedly to clear his eyes. He looked around groggily, but his stupor quickly wore off, to be replaced with self-righteous indignation as he figured out that he was tied to a chair.

"Hey!" he yelped, straining against his bonds, which didn't give. Growling at them, he looked around again. He was in a small, concrete room whose only furnishings were the chair he was tied to and the bright fluorescent lamp hanging from the low ceiling. Rodney was just about to start to yell for help when a door opened behind him and Kell stepped into the room.

"Well, well, well," the ex-Commander said, walking around his captive with his hands behind his back. "What have we here?"

_**Planet's surface - **_Ship's Bridge

"That's weird," John said, frowning as he looked at the readouts from the scanners.

"What's weird?" Ronon asked.

"These say he's . . . underground . . . but that can't be right, they also say he's five miles away, he couldn't get that far in this amount of time!" John said.

"The scanner might be acting up," Elizabeth said as she and Teyla started to open the bags of food to be sorted. John was about to reply when a shocked gasp from behind him caused him to turn around. Teyla had found a piece of paper in one of the bags and was now holding it in her hands, staring wide-eyed at the words on it.

John glanced at Ronon and the two men immediately stood to walk over to their wives.

"What is it?" Ronon asked quietly, placing a supportive hand on Teyla's shoulder. She swallowed, then handed him the paper mutely.

He read its message out loud:

"_One unharmed engineer for one Ronon Dex. That seems fair, doesn't it?"_

A moment of silence passed, then Elizabeth cursed voluably in several languages.

"He's back," Teyla sighed grimly, staring at the note that held a friend's life in the balance.

_**Secret Underground Bunker - **_Interrogation Room

"So you're the great Rodney McKay, are you?" Kell asked, staring down at Rodney, who gulped and nodded a shaky yes. Kell snorted.

"Don't look so great to me, I don't know what Ronon sees in you," he scoffed, glancing at his nails. He hummed for a minute, ignoring Rodney, who was too scared to say anything anyway, then he walked back to the door and rapped shortly on it. Two stocky guards entered into the room carrying a table, then stood with their backs to the door.

On the table were Rodney's gear, the scanner, and a few knives, none of which looked at all appetizing in Rodney's opinion. Kell walked over to the table and picked up one of the knives, turning it so that it caught the light.

Kell was about to speak, probably to offer some insult or menacing thought, but Rodney's earpiece squawked from the table.

"_Kell! I know you're listening, answer me!_" came Ronon's voice.

Kell smirked and turned back to Rodney, who saw the crazed look in his captor's eyes and gulped, his fear doubling when the murderer spoke.

"It's showtime."

_To Be Continued..._

**A/N: Heehee. Rodney-whump. Almost as fun as Shep-whump. But don't worry, I'll return them both in one piece (mostly). Only two chapters and an epilogue to go, so keep your hats on!**

**Hannah 554:** Thanks, it was kind of a brain-wave moment while I was thinking, "hey . . . dude . . . how are they going to know if it's safe . . . i need more coffee . . ." Lol. And I was totally freaking out about how long it took me to update (two months argh) -should be shot- but now I'm not worried because squee you liked it! -hugs- Thanks so much for reviewing! 

**fyd818:** Hah I was just watching "Echoes" too! -high fives to fellow fangirl- The tags thing was seriously a brainwave, like -right- before I fell asleep a while ago. Lol. And yeah the adventure is still definitely going – the good part will be in the next chapter (which will be up as soon as the server lets me! Thanks so much, you are sooo nice to me and I'm glad you let me write this because it is SO FUN! -insert multiple exclamation marks-

**Izzles:** Haha, I felt kinda bad about having that chapter delayed so long since it's sooo fluffy! -also melts into a puddle of goo- I'm soo glad you liked it! Don't worry there'll be more sparky fluff near the end of the 'fic (waah it's only four chapters away) so stay tuned! Next chappie shall be up as soon as the server lets it be! -tacklehugs back- I'm sooooooo glad you liked it!


	10. Checkmate

Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc. Slight swearing in this chapter.

Part 10/12

**Chapter 10**

_Checkmate_

"Kell! I know you're listening, answer me!" Ronon yelled into the radio. He was pacing the bridge, muscles tensed in anger, but he stopped abruptly when the radio gave a burst of static and then Kell's voice could be plainly heard in the room.

_"Why hello again, Ronon, I assume that you got my message?"_ came the smug voice of the murderer, echoing through the room and causing Allie to shrink back against Elizabeth, who gently shushed her and took her back to her room.

Ronon growled a curse, avoiding the eyes of his friends, then replied, "Yes, I did, you slimy bastard, now what do you want?"

Kell chuckled into the radio, a sound that raised the hairs on the back of Teyla's neck. She moved silently to Ronon, placing a hand on his shoulder in support.

_"You know what I want, Ronon Dex," _Kell said. _"I want you."_

Suddenly the connection was broken. Ronon stared blankly at the silent radio in his hand, then yelled into it, "Kell!"

When no response was forthcoming, Ronon swore loudly and hurled the radio at the wall, where it would have smashed to pieces had not John grabbed it out of the air.

"Come on, Ronon, we need that!" he admonished, then tossed the radio back to his friend and turned to open a storage compartment. He fished out a small handgun and Ronon's blaster, which he handed to the big man, then another handgun and his own P-90, which he strapped onto his vest.

As he straightened, John spoke, clearly but tersely, as time was not on their side.

"All right. You need to go surrender now," he said to Ronon, who nodded.

"What!" Elizabeth asked in alarm, having just come back into the room. John turned to her.

"If Ronon surrenders, Kell will take him inside the complex to gloat. Once he's inside, he can undoubtably take out the guards," here he looked at Ronon, who nodded.

". . . and once the guards are out we can bust in and rescue Rodney," John finished.

Elizabeth did not look completely convinced, but Teyla shot a warning look at her before she could object further.

"All right," Teyla sighed, stepping up to Ronon with a hand held out. "Give me the handgun."

Ronon looked conflicted, then shook his head determinedly. "You're not going," he said.

Teyla quirked an eyebrow at him. "Not going?" she repeated suspiciously.

Ronon gave her a look. "Not going."

"Hm," Teyla said out loud, muttered a quiet "We'll see about _that_," then continued, "You will need backup."

"I've got John, and it's too dangerous for you anyway," Ronon said, then turned and walked out of the bridge and down the ramp to the planet. John gave Teyla a sympathetic look and followed. Teyla and Elizabeth did as well.

"Too dangerous!" Teyla said angrily when she caught up to Ronon. "I have spent the majority of the last two years either being attacked in my _home_ or travelling the galaxy looking for a place for my family to be safe! Believe me, this will be a _relief_ compared to that."

Ronon sighed, not looking at her, but shook his head and kept walking. Teyla growled and stepped in front of him, forcing him to look at her.

When he did, she spoke, so softly that only he could hear her.

"I will not lose you again. Do you know what it was like, not knowing whether you were alive or not? You told me you would never leave again. You _promised_," she said, her eyes communicating the intense emotion she felt. Ronon started to reply, then shut his mouth silently.

Teyla narrowed her eyes, seeing that he was still not convinced, then without taking her gaze off her husband, she said, "John. Give me your gun."

John, who had been standing a few feet away with Elizabeth, where they were both trying not to look like they were eavesdropping on their friends, mutely unclasped his P-90 from his vest and handed it to Teyla, who took it with a nod of thanks.

"Do you see this coin?" she asked Ronon, withdrawing a small bronze circle from her pocket. He nodded, frowning slightly in puzzlement.

"I got it at the last planet for Allie's collection," she continued, then, without warning, flung the coin high into the air, and in the same fluid movement, brought up the gun and fired a single shot. As gravity exerted its power and the coin came plummeting back down to land in Teyla's outstretched palm, she continued, "I think I may have to get her a replacement."

He took the small coin from her and his jaw dropped. In the precise center of the metal was a small, clean hole, which was smoking slightly. Ronon glanced up at Teyla, then back to the coin, disbelieving. Teyla shrugged and gave John back his weapon.

"I've been practicing," she said, then held out her hand to Ronon again. This time, he withdrew his sidearm without comment, handing it to her respectfully. She nodded in approval, then spoke to Elizabeth.

"I'm afraid you'll have to stay with Allie," she said regretfully. Elizabeth laughed.

"That's okay, I'm not sure I could keep up with all of this shooting anyway," she joked, then turned to go back to the ship, calling back over her shoulder, "But don't kill Kell completely, I want to have a few words with him myself."

_**Planet's surface -**_ Just outside the Secret Underground Bunker

"Okay, so here's the plan," John said quietly as he, Ronon, and Teyla hunkered down behind a convenient mossy log, just outside of where the computer said that Rodney was. They could see a hut in a clearing in the woods they had trekked through, small but being patrolled by two heavily-armed men.

"You go up, pretend to surrender, then while you're giving them your gun we'll shoot 'em," John continued, but Teyla interrupted him.

"Trade guns, that way you can just stun them," she said, and Ronon nodded.

"We don't know if they're just hired guards or if they're part of Kell's plot - if we can bring them back to Atlantis they can stand a fair trial."

John saw that he was outnumbered, and handed his P-90 to Ronon before continuing, "Kell knows about us, since he told Michael to watch for three men, two women, and a little girl. That means we'll have to sneak up on him quickly and quietly. Ronon, as soon as we shoot the guards, you get inside and look for the first security camera you see."

"And shoot it?" Ronon asked, then without waiting for an answer he straightened and walked towards the hut.

"I was going to say _disable_ it," John sighed to Teyla as he pointed Ronon's blaster at the guards. "But whatever works."

_**Secret Underground Bunker -**_ Outside

"Hey! I surrender!" Ronon yelled, holding John's gun in plain view of the guards, who recovered their surprise quickly and pointed their guns at him.

"Who are you and what do you want?" one of them said gruffly. Ronon sighed dramatically.

"I'm Ronon Dex, tell Kell I surrender and he can let the hostage go," he deadpanned, then waited for the guard to fish his radio out of his pocket before handing the other one the gun.

"Commander!" the first guard said into his radio. "Dex is here, sir, he's just surrendered. We've got him covered."

Ronon tried to look innocent and harmless, no small feat for a man of his stature. The guard nodded in response to something he heard from the radio, then turned the radio off and said, "Okay, Dex, hands on your head, no sudden moves."

Ronon complied happily, and as the guards shoved him in front of them, about to enter the hut, he heard the tell-tale whooshes and grunts of someone getting shot with his blaster. He turned to see the guards slumped on the ground and John and Teyla running towards him.

"We'll tie these two up, go fix the cameras," John said breathlessly, tossing a set of handcuffs to Teyla. Ronon nodded and opened the door to the hut. He saw another door, this one metal and much more highly advanced than the construction of the hut, and guessed that it was an elevator. Scanning the interior of the hut quickly, Ronon found a small camera in the corner, pointed at the elevator door. He flattened himself against the wall, moving towards the camera but staying in its blind spot, then, when he reached it, he simply turned it towards the ceiling.

"Okay," he whispered. "We're good to go."

John and Teyla snuck into the room and Ronon punched the button for the elevator. The doors opened with a whoosh, and the three friends stepped inside. They reached the bottom of the shaft quickly, keeping their guns trained on the door. When it opened, they saw a low-ceilinged, dark passageway, lit by fluorescent lights in the ceiling. The passage ended in a door, which Ronon tried carefully.

It was unlocked, so he whispered, "Let me check it out," before slipping through it. Seconds later, he reappeared, beckoning insistently to his friends. They came through the door into another passage, easing it closed behind them, and Ronon pointed to another door opposite them, through which they could see the outlines of two guards standing at attention.

John motioned for a retreat and the three returned to the first passage, making sure they were out of earshot before conferring in lowered voices.

"We need a distraction," John said. Teyla waved one of the guards' radios around.

"Will this do?" she asked. John looked at Ronon.

"See?" he said. "I knew there was a reason we brought her along."

_**Secret Underground Bunker - **_Interrogation Room

Kell, after recieving the message of Ronon's capture, had gloated happily for a while, only worsening Rodney's fear, and was in the middle of a rant about how long he had waited for his revenge when his radio beeped urgently.

"_Commander!_" a muffled voice yelled. Kell picked his radio up.

"What is it?" he asked excitably.

"_It's the prisoner, sir!_" came the reply. "_He's collapsed! I swear we didn't do anything, sir, he just fell down!_"

Kell's face soured and he growled an expletive, then motioned to the two guards.

"Go help them," he sighed angrily, watching them salute and leave the room.

"Stupid buffoons. And you," he continued, rounding on Rodney. "If this is some sort of trick you will pay with your life!"

"Oh I kinda doubt that, Kell," John said as he entered the room, gun raised.

"Yeah," Ronon added. "Seeing as how that's what _you'll_ be doing."

_**Ship - **_Corridor

"Well!" Elizabeth burst out as John emerged from the room where they had taken Kell after shackling him heavily. John smiled a tired but happy smile.

"We've got him, he's in there," he said. Elizabeth made a small noise of satisfaction, then pushed past John and went into the room.

"Wait!" John called after her. When she did not respond, he muttered, "Oh well I suppose I should go in there before she hurts him too bad . . ."

_**Ship - **_Storage Room

Teyla and Ronon were standing on either side of Kell, who was handcuffed to a chair in the middle of an empty storage room. Both had their hands resting casually on their guns. Kell had been making pointless comments about Ronon's mother for a few minutes when Elizabeth strode into the room and promptly began swearing at their prisoner.

Kell sat up slightly straighter as he was confronted by the angry pregnant woman.

"Well!" he said, cutting her off as a lewd smile crawling across his face. "Apparently instead of killing you that bullet got a little busy!"

John, who had followed Elizabeth into the room, sighed and moved forward to punch Kell in the nose. The prisoner winced, a line of blood running down his face.

"Would you care to wipe that off for me, please?" he asked Teyla, who smiled, leaned forward, and punched him as John had. Kell groaned, then spat blood and turned back to Teyla with hatred in his eyes.

"I should have killed you when I had the chance," he said, then regained his cocky attitude and added, "Or maybe I should have just bedded you a few times, I'm sure that would have tamed you of your wildness."

Teyla cocked an eyebrow as Kell laughed, a sound abruptly silenced when Ronon drew his blaster and fired a single shot at Kell's chest. The man slumped against his bonds and Ronon turned back to his friends.

"Don't worry, it was set on stun," he sighed regretfully, then suggested, "How about we stick him in a stasis pod while he's unconscious? That way he'll keep until we can get him to trial."

"Sounds good," John agreed. He and Ronon picked up Kell's limp form and took him away.

Teyla and Elizabeth watched their husbands go, laughing quietly.

"Isn't it wonderful?" Elizabeth asked Teyla, who nodded and replied, "Yes - they do all the work for us, although I did quite enjoy punching him myself."

"I'm quite sure Ronon enjoyed shooting him, too," Elizabeth added, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Teyla laughed. "Indeed he did."

_To Be Continued..._

**A/N2: Yay they got him! Woohoo! And wow that was a long chapter. I was considering splitting it up into two bits, but they seemed to roll better together. Tell me what you think!**

**A/N: I am SO SORRY that this chapter took so long to post! Erm . . . no excuses other than the ones you've heard a million times before (RL got in the way, finals week, I got sick, work was stressful, etc.), and I can't promise a quick update because chapter 11 has been giving me strife for about five months now, but I swear I'll get it up as soon as I can. After that it's just the epilogue, and then it's finally over! **

**Hannah554: ** Oh god thank you so much for sticking with this story, I can't believe it's taken me so long to update it! Argh! And yes, Kell has his ways of finding information -evil laugh- but that'll all get cleared up in the next chapter (I hope!). Thanks so much for reviewing, hope you liked this one, too!

**fyd818:** Mm, yeah when I picture Kell he's like a lion ready to pounce, I tried to get that into that scene as much as I could (he's a bit like Kolya, I think, quiet and dangerous). I'm really sorry this took so long to update, and I promise I'll get the next one up sooner (it's the trial, yay!). Thank you yet again for letting me play in your sandbox, this AU is definitely my favorite one ever! -hugs-


	11. Trial

Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Part 11/12

**Dedication**: This one goes out to anyone who is actually still reading this 'fic. Again, I am so intensely sorry it's taken me so long to update it. Suffice it to say that my dad has had some pretty serious health problems in the last few months, and writing has not been very high on my to-do list because of this. Anyway. This is dedicated to everyone reading it, and particularly to TeylaFan, who left a nice review and requested some Spanky love – it'll turn up in the later part of the chapter!

**Chapter 11**

_Trial_

"I knew you liked me," Rodney was saying for the thousandth time as they waited outside the courtroom. Ronon sighed, his patience waning fast.

"Yes, yes, we like you, get over it!" he said, massaging his temples. He turned to John. "Weren't they supposed to start the trial an hour ago?"

John nodded. "They always take longer than they're supposed to, though."

Ronon growled something under his breath and continued his pacing up and down in front of the door to Courtroom Five. This continued for a few more minutes, then the door to the courtroom opened and Commander Lorne stepped out. Ronon immediately ceased his pacing and saluted.

"Sir?" he asked anxiously. Lorne chuckled, patting Ronon on the shoulder.

"Calm down, Dex, you're making _me_ nervous. It'll all be fine," he assured the big man, who gritted his teeth and attempted to comply with the order. Teyla could see that he was not succeeding, and she left her seat next to Elizabeth and Allie and came up to her husband.

She didn't say anything, just lightly touched his shoulder, but it worked. Ronon sighed, closed his eyes, and breathed deeply for a few seconds, then opened them again and looked at Teyla. She was smiling, an infectious grin that he could not ignore. He smiled back at her, then swept her into his arms and swung her around, both of them laughing.

"Oh man," he chuckled, putting her down again. "This is all so crazy."

"I agree," she smiled amusedly, glad that he could finally step away from his worries and look at the problem from a different perspective.

Teyla was about to add something when the door to the courtroom opened and an usher appeared.

"People of Atlantis vs. ex-Commander Kell!" he called into the semi-crowded corridor. Some people besides Ronon's group stood up, stretched, and walked towards the courtroom.

Teyla looked at Ronon, who she could see was quickly becoming tense again, and, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, beckoned to Allie so that the family could go in together. John, Elizabeth, Rodney, and Captain Lorne followed them into the courtroom.

"Here we go," John muttered to his wife as they found seats near the front of the room.

"Again," she whispered back, causing him to grin a little. John had been at Kell's last trial to testify against the murderer, but Elizabeth had refrained from going, saying that she'd be hard-pressed not to shoot Kell herself if she saw him.

John saw that this emotion was still very much present in his wife, as, when the bailiff opened a side door and a handcuffed Kell was ushered into the courtroom, Elizabeth stiffened and her expression grew cold. John also heard Ronon growl softly from his seat next to the Sheppards, and even Rodney had his hands clenched into fists. John shook his head in a mixture of anger and sadness, amazed that a single man could affect so many lives in such a perverse way.

"Court will please rise," came the slightly bored voice of the court's steward, who had just opened the door behind the judge's bench and admitted an older gentleman, who was dressed in a dark blue robe edged with silver, and had a square black cap perched on his bald pate.

"That's Justice Ubel Punir, from the Western Provinces," John whispered to Elizabeth behind his hand, watching the stern judge slowly lower himself into his chair. The judge glanced around the room, seeing everyone at attention, and made a slight gesture with his hand, at which the court relaxed at took their seats.

"Alright, Weatherby, what's the case now?" he asked his steward, who rifled through the sheaf of papers in front of him, removed a small number of them, and handed them to the judge.

"People of Atlantis vs. ex-Commander Kell," he said, his voice quickly changing from bored to professional. The judge took the papers with a nod of thanks, scanning through the first few with his bushy eyebrows raised.

"Ah! So _you're_ the one who caused all that trouble with Steven Caldwell?" he mused. John glanced at Teyla from the corner of his eye. He could see that she had relaxed at the judge's words, and he saw her squeeze Ronon's hand slightly, communicating her relief.

John smiled. He was relieved too, he had been a little worried about the judge's reaction to the case, but it seemed as though his fears had been groundless. He felt a squeeze on his own hand and turned to see Elizabeth's smile. Sighing in content, he turned back to the front of the room to listen to the trial.

The judge was still muttering to himself as he shuffled through the papers he had been handed.

"Escaping a prison facility, murdering a guard, breaking and entering, attempted murder, kidnapping, extortion, assault, robbery, is there any crime you _haven't_ committed, Mr. Kell?" he said, his voice rising in affront.

Kell smirked a little, raising his hands in a shrug, a gesture that jangled his chains noisily.

"I've never been arrested for public nudity," he growled, bringing some titters from the large audience, which were promptly silenced with a scorching glare that Justice Punir sent, seething, around the room.

"Thank the Ancestors for _that_ small blessing," he said, his expansive eyebrows raised in contempt.

Kell's smirk dropped, transforming into an ugly snarl. But before he could do anything, the prosecutor stood and coughed discreetly.

"Your Honor, the Prosecution would like to call its first witness. Commander Marc Lorne, please take the stand."

Ronon watched as his friend and colleague approached the low bench where witnesses sat. The steward, Weatherby, swore him in, using the Atlantean Police Officer's Handbook as the sacred text, and Lorne took his seat.

What followed was a flurry of witnesses, questions, and cross-examinations, hours and hours worth of talking, all blurred together in Teyla's mind, some standing out more clearly than others – John's testimony as to Kell's placement of the tracking device on their ship, Ronon's calm demeanor as he detailed his questioning of Michael the bartender, whom Kell had paid to spy on their group, and Rodney's dramatic exposition of his own capture and interrogation.

Finally Teyla herself was called to the stand. She was sworn in on an ancient text of the Ancestors, a well-worn metal-bound copy that radiated serenity and knowledge.

The prosecutor, a kind young man named Dr. Jackson, asked her a few questions about her previous encounters with Kell, nothing too specific or personal. She got the impression that he just wanted another viewpoint of Kell's behavior, to show that he had damaged her life as well as her husband's. After a few minutes, during which she answered all his questions calmly and truthfully, he thanked her and sat down.

Now the defense attorney stood. His name was Woolsey, and he was not as nice as Dr. Jackson, although Teyla suspected that he was, at least, an honest man. He started by asking her about Kell's holding her, Allie, and Elizabeth hostage, two years beforehand.

"When your husband burst into that room didn't you _want_ him to kill Kell?" he asked. Teyla frowned slightly as Dr. Jackson rose from his seat.

"I'm sorry, Your Honor, I don't see what this has to do with the current trial, could the defense please move on to relevant matters?" he asked, smoothing his tie in casual indifference.

The judge raised his expressive eyebrows. "I am compelled to agree with you, Dr. Jackson. Please, Mr. Woolsey, get to the point."

Woolsey gave a stiff half-bow. "I'm sorry, Your Honor. Question withdrawn. Mrs. . . . Dex can step down."

Teyla looked up at the judge, who nodded. She inclined her head and stood, walking majestically back to her seat. She looked towards her husband, and saw him tensed, his gaze smoldering in Woolsey's direction. But John sat beside him, a warning hand on his friend's forearm, keeping his anger in check.

Teyla smiled as she sat, placing her own hand on top of Ronon's; he started a little as this contact brought him out of his quiet anger. He looked up at her, surprised, and gave her the same, radiantly happy smile that he had given her on that morning, months and months ago, that had been the start this weird and awful adventure.

"I love you, Ronon Dex," Teyla whispered, oblivious to the court around her, where the two lawyers were giving their final speeches.

"And I love you, Teyla Dex," came the rumbling reply, sending shivers down her spine. She felt a tug on her dress and looked down, breaking eye contact with Ronon.

Allie stood before her parents with her arms folded, a no-nonsense look on her face. Ronon and Teyla glanced at each other, smiling, then Ronon reached down and lifted their daughter onto his lap. She snuggled into his overcoat and sighed contentedly, just as the judge rose to give his final verdict.

"People of Atlantis," he began, his stentorian tones ringing through the room and silencing side conversations immediately. "I have seen to the evidence brought forth today, and I have heard the testimonies. Normally I would take this time to deliberate on my answer, but the facts of the case are exceedingly clear to me and I do not feel the need. The defendant," here he turned towards Kell, who had been nudged into a standing position by Mr. Woolsey, "has been charged with many crimes, none of them small or petty ones. And I see no evidence that he is innocent."

The judge raised his hands at the murmuring and chatter that broke out at his last pronouncement, and the room fell silent again.

"If I may continue," he said, biting the words through clenched teeth. When no further nuisance was made, he nodded.

"As I said, I see no evidence that Mr. Kell is innocent of the crimes of which he has been accused. And frankly I am surprised that he wasn't put to death from his previous arrest. This will promptly be rectified."

A stunned silence swept through the room, as no one wanted to bring the wrath of the judge upon them by whispering. Justice Punir banged his gavel on the top of his desk twice, then intoned his final verdict.

"It is my decision that the defendant in this case is guilty of all the crimes of which he has been accused, and most likely many others besides. He shall be put to death at the earliest convenience of this court, a time to be determined as soon as possible. Court is adjourned."

Immediately, the room erupted into loud chatter as the judge stood and regally left the court, followed by the harried Weatherby. Teyla sat quietly for a second or two, then a smile appeared on her face, growing larger and larger until she let loose with a happy laugh.

She turned and threw her arms around Ronon, effectively squishing Allie in between them. But none of them minded, as they were so relieved that finally their enemy would never be able to hurt them again.

"I think this calls for celebration," Ronon whispered to Teyla, burying his face in her hair. She giggled in response.

Ronon pulled away in surprise. Teyla _never_ giggled. He looked at her closely, making sure it really was his wife. She looked up at him through her lashes, a playful look in her eyes that he hadn't seen since before Allie was born. He gulped happily.

Teyla reached up to pull her husband's head down to her level and laid a searing kiss on his lips. She broke for air and smirked at his dazed expression, then replied, "I think it does indeed."

He returned her smirk and was about to kiss her again when they heard Elizabeth say, "Oh my God!"

Turning towards their friend, Ronon and Teyla both asked, "What's wrong?"

Elizabeth had a shocked look on her face as she turned to John and said, "I think my water just broke."

--

**A/N: **I know, I know, it's really not very nice of me to make you wait five months and then give you a cliffhanger like this one. It's just the evil genius in me -smirks-.

**Hannah554: ** I am SO glad you thought it worth the wait, I hope this one was too! I was really worried that nobody would still be reading it! Thanks so much, hope you enjoy this chapter! Epilogue next, yay!

**Jammeke: ** Thank you so much for your great review, I'm thrilled that you liked it! Yeah I wanted to kill Kell off sooner, but I figured it would be too messy for them to do it on their ship instead of at a trial. I had so much fun writing Elizabeth's reaction to Kell's capture! It was really fun. Thanks again, I hope you like this chapter too! Only one left, I'm afraid.

**fyd818: **-tacklehugs back- I cannot express just how sorry I am to have basically abandoned this story for five frelling months! I completely agree about Elizabeth, I was just visualizing it and giggling madly to myself the whole time I was writing it . I didn't want to make Kell over-the-top, but I did want him to deserve being punched (aside from the whole killing Caldwell and blaming it on Ronon and shooting Elizabeth and everything), so I made him pretty obnoxious. Actually it was really fun, now that I think of it! I hope you like this chapter, and again I am SO SORRY it took so long to write! -hugs-

**TeylaFan: ** Hey! Sorry the Spanky bit was short in this one, but there ought to be some more in the epilogue. Really glad you're enjoying it, sorry for the long wait!


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